Alex could soon move from a ghetto into suburbia
ALEXANDRA – Hart says they want Alexandra to scream to investors to come and invest in the township.
If everything goes according to plan for the makeover of Alex, the township could soon undergo a major transformation.
The Alex Investment Fund is embarking on a mammoth task of raising millions for the We Love Alex Makeover Project which is expected to begin with its beautification and revitalisation of the dilapidated infrastructure of this iconic township soon.
Speaking in an interview with Alex News, Chris Hart, the fundraiser for Alex Investment Fund and executive chairperson of the Sandton-based Impact Investment Africa, said individuals, businesses and foundations who supported the Alex fund would benefit from tax rebates.
Hart added that the Alex fund would use this SA Revenue Service mechanism to seed the funding of the project from various sources which would include the National Empowerment Fund and the Department of Trade and Industry.
The aim of the Alex fund was to improve the business climate in Alexandra. “We want to ensure that conditions prevailing in Alexandra that tend to inhibit the flow of investments to the township are greatly improved in order to serve as a magnet to attract potential investors and business people that want to do business in the township.
“If your infrastructure is not good enough and conducive for business people to do business, no one will be prepared to risk his or her investments in a place that is not investment friendly and does not scream ‘come and invest in me’… We need to ensure we remove those impediments first so that investors can see it for themselves too that the place or township is ready for investments and indeed welcomes them.” He added that bad infrastructure was bad for business and no one wanted to run a business or invest their money in a place where basic service delivery of simply keeping the place clean was absent.
“If the rubbish removal truck from Pikitup comes to collect and leaves, it should be visible for anyone that the Pikitup truck has been around. “This will also eliminate other side issues as well such as the menacing rodents. Whatever the City [of Johannesburg] does currently is overwhelmed by the sheer fact that the township is overcrowded.”
